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Luca raised an eyebrow, and his sunny smile slipped a little. “Fine. You’re probably right. But you won’tknowyou’re right until you try.Try, Joanne. What’s the worst they can say? No? Who cares? You’ll be no worse off. And theymightsay yes. Theymightsolve your problems.” He paused for a moment, and when I didn’t immediately object, he leaned in and continued. “You’ve been running that place for years anyway. I’ll vouch for that. Comeon, Jo. What do you have to lose? Unless, I mean… is that even something you’dwantto do? Itishard work, I’m not gonna lie.”
“Of course, I’d want to,” I answered immediately, then paused and cocked my head to the side.
For something I’d never thought of before—and for such a big, life-changing decision—I sure hadn’t hesitated with my answer.Wasthere something to the idea?
“And you know I’m not scared of doing the work. Itwouldbe sort of perfect, though. I’d have the stability I need, and I’d finally get a chance to put some of the more unconventional marketing and design ideas into place—things Henry hadn’t really been too excited about.”
“See?” Luca was grinning from ear to ear. “It might just work out perfectly.”
There was no way a bank would give me a loan. I knew that. Well, I mostly knew it. But I couldn’t buy the flower shop… could I?
I needed some time to think. And I needed to get back to work. Sure, it was a nice idea, but it was probably just a wild fantasy, at best. Right?
I bit back a smile. Icouldn’tlet myself get excited about something so unlikely.
“I need to get back to work,” I said. “And it looks like you do, too.”
I nodded toward Luca’s beleaguered assistant, who appeared to be drowning in the sea of people who were waiting for their lunch-time caffeine fix.
“Fine. But promise me you’ll think about what I said.Promise, Jo.”
“Okay, okay,” I held my hands up in a mock surrender. “I promise. I’ll think about it.” I put some money on the table to cover my bill and gave a little wave. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Call me when you get back from the bank.”
I laughed as I walked the short distance back to Patty’s Petals.
Luca was crazy if he thought there was really any chance I could actually buy that place. Itwasa crazy idea, right?
But then again, Luca had said at least one thing that had made sense. One thing that I couldn’t quite get out of my head.
What do you have to lose?
And the answer was… nothing.
I had nothing to lose.
Chapter Seventeen - Joanne
I adjusted my position on the uncomfortable lobby chair and glanced at my phone.
I’d told Naomi to text if anything came up at the shop—or if Brady finally showed up. However, I’d spent the better part of an hour at the bank filling out paperwork to see if I even qualified for a loan, and despite checking my phone every few minutes, there were still no calls and no new texts.
I nibbled at my lip and resisted the urge to immediately check my phone again, even though the rational part of my brain knew that I hadn’t suddenly missed a call in the two seconds that had passed.
Friday afternoon wasn’t usually one of our busiest times—unlike the bank, where a seemingly endless stream of people advanced through the teller lines—but still, shouldn’t there have been something?Anything, really, that might get me out of the too-bright, too-busy lobby and back to my familiar shop.
I glanced up and across the lobby to the little glass office where the loan officer—Will Whitley—was going over my paperwork. Was he frowning? Scowling?
I squinted my eyes and tried to make out the man’s exact expression from across the room, but I really had no way of knowing.
And maybe Will made that face—the one with the crinkled brows and pursed lips—every time he went over someone’s paperwork. It didn’t have to mean he thought my application was a waste of his time.
Will looked up and I quickly looked away, feeling the heat flush my cheeks as I’d no doubt been caught staring.
Great. Probably thinks I’m checking him out. He’ll for sure deny the loan now.
And sure, objectively speaking, the guy wasn’t bad looking. But that was really the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. If I had really wanted eye candy, I could have just waited for Brady to show up again.
